Joon-won’s breath hitched as the statues shifted. A slow, deliberate movement, like something that had been frozen in time now forcing itself back to life. The grinding sound of stone against stone filled the chamber, reverberating through his chest like an impending storm.

  Min-jae was already moving, bde raised, ready to strike.

  “Joon-won, get back!” he barked.

  But Joon-won couldn’t. His feet were rooted to the ground, his gaze locked onto the name inscribed in the stone; Seoha.

  A name he had never spoken before. A name he should not have known.

  And yet, the moment it left his lips, something within the ruins had awakened.

  A whisper drifted through the chamber again, ghostly, weightless, yet carrying the weight of a forgotten past.

  “You remembered.”

  Joon-won’s pulse pounded in his ears.

  “Who’s there?” he demanded, scanning the shadows. His voice felt small in the vast chamber, drowned beneath the shifting of the statues.

  One of them moved faster than the others. Its body jerked, cracking at the joints as it lifted its head. Unlike the others, this one’s face was not completely eroded away. Its features were faint, barely distinguishable, but its eyes—

  They glowed.

  A golden light, the same as the ancient crystal they had found earlier. The same as the golden veins embedded in the walls of this ruin.

  The same as the distant light Joon-won had seen from Cheongseong before the core's destruction.

  This was no ordinary corruption.

  Joon-won’s grip tightened. Whatever this was, it was watching him.

  And then; it moved.

  The statue lunged.

  Joon-won barely had time to react before Min-jae’s sword smmed into its chest. Stone shattered, fragments bursting into the air, but the statue didn’t fall. It staggered back, a deep crack running through its torso, yet it remained standing.

  It wasn’t just stone.

  It was alive.

  Min-jae swore under his breath, adjusting his stance. “Not good.”

  Joon-won pulled his own weapon free, the weight of it grounding him. The other statues were still shifting, their movements sluggish but undeniable. They were waking up; all of them.

  Haneul remained near the centre of the chamber, her gaze fixed not on the statues, but on the tall figure at the far end. The one that still stood, unmoving, the name Seoha carved at its base.

  Joon-won forced himself to move, stepping toward her even as the statues stirred around them. “Haneul, what is this?”

  She didn’t look at him.

  Instead, she whispered, “They were waiting for someone to remember.”

  A chill ran down his spine.

  Another statue lunged; this time at Haneul.

  Joon-won acted on instinct, his bde slicing through the air. The moment his sword connected, golden cracks fred across the statue’s surface, its form splitting apart before it colpsed into dust.

  Not stone.

  Not flesh.

  Something else entirely.

  Haneul barely flinched. “They aren’t enemies.”

  Min-jae shot her an incredulous look. “Not enemies? They just tried to kill us!”

  She shook her head. “No. They’re reacting. Defending.” She turned toward Joon-won. “Because you said her name.”

  Joon-won clenched his jaw. “Who is she?”

  Haneul hesitated.

  “The lost queen.”

  The words sank in like heavy stones.

  Joon-won exhaled slowly. This wasn’t just about uncovering the past. This was about something much bigger; something still alive within these ruins.

  And he had just triggered it.

  .. ..

  The statues didn’t stop moving. They weren’t attacking all at once, but they were responding to something; something Joon-won had done.

  He gritted his teeth, stepping forward. “If they’re waiting for someone to remember, then let’s give them what they want.”

  Haneul’s gaze snapped to him. “Joon-won, wait—”

  He ignored her.

  Instead, he turned to the tall, unmoving statue; the one inscribed with Seoha’s name.

  If these statues had once been people, if this pce still remembered—

  Then maybe…

  Joon-won took a deep breath.

  And spoke.

  “Seoha.”

  The moment the name left his lips again, the entire chamber shook.

  A deafening crack split through the air as golden light erupted from the stone. The unmoving statue; the queen’s statue began to glow, golden fissures racing across its surface like lightning.

  The kneeling statues froze, their movements halting instantly.

  And then—

  The statue of Seoha opened its eyes.

  Joon-won’s breath hitched.

  For a brief moment, he wasn’t looking at stone.

  He was looking at a person.

  She wasn’t fully formed, her figure still encased in the remnants of the ancient stone that had bound her for centuries. Her features were blurred, indistinct, but her eyes—

  They were unmistakable.

  And they were looking at him.

  The weight of that gaze was suffocating, heavy with something indescribable. Recognition. Sorrow. Hope.

  The golden glow around her intensified, and suddenly—

  A voice echoed through the chamber.

  Not a whisper.

  Not a memory.

  But a voice that was alive.

  “…Who calls me back?”

  Joon-won’s heart pounded.

  She was here.

  Not just a name.

  Not just a legend.

  She was real.

  And he had just brought her back.

  .. .. .